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Summer time and the living is easy — or at least it should be. And what better way to spend a lazy, hot summer day than reading?

And guess what? I just happen to have two books by former Montrealers cross my desk that offer tips on living more healthy — and less frantic — lives.

Gloria Schwartz began writing her book six years ago: Personal Best, Train Your Brain and Transform Your Body for Life is about her personal journey to a healthier mind and body.

“Originally, it was a self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek look at the whole diet phenom and the word we live in,” the busy mother of two explained. “It evolved into this transformational journey and one that I strongly felt should be shared, because if it helps even one person, then that’s a great thing.”

It all began when Schwartz lost her high-tech job in 2006.

In the book, she writes about being stunned that her whole life had changed in an instant: “I took the job loss hard. At first, I was in shock. Then, I became depressed. I had nightmares and I cried often. My ego and my sense of self had been intricately tied to my career. Even though I was a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter and a friend, I suddenly felt like I was a nobody.”

Schwartz said she felt like she had two options: She could take up drinking and drown her sorrows, or she could get up and get dressed and head to a gym.

She opted for the latter.

When she was in her early 40s, Schwartz was told she had a chronic kidney disease.

Her doctor warned of the possibility of a steady decline that would require dialysis within five years.

Up until that point, Schwartz said, she had made a feeble attempt at taking control of her life and her health. She admits she had made only half-hearted attempts to exercise, and was in the habit of eating too much junk and drinking sugary soda.

The book is her personal story of getting from there to here: Schwartz is now a personal trainer, has run 12 half-marathons and completely changed her life — from the inside out.

In her book, she covers all the bases, from food to emotions, exercise to self-analysis. “I’m an ordinary person, not selling gimmicks, or fads, just an average person who learned to change her life, one step at a time.”

Schwartz developed what she calls her seven-point plan for success: Having a blueprint; preparedness; goals; food; exercise; support and maintenance.

It’s a plan that she firmly believes can help anyone achieve their goals, wherever they are at.

A recent trip to her kidney specialist confirmed all of her hard work is paying off: her condition has not worsened and seems to have slowed its progression.

“The doctor told me to continue whatever it is I am doing, because it’s working.”

Schwartz noted we live in a quick-fix world. “We all want instant results in the snap of a finger, but life doesn’t work that way. It takes time to make changes and we have to work through all of the different things that can cause us to veer off-course.

“It’s about learning and raising the bar every day, we all have it in us, we just need to do the work to get there.”

And, let’s hope, before we get sick.

“It’s much harder to undo the damage we’ve done than doing the work to prevent it; it really is about striving for your personal best.”

She calls the book her gift for her 50th birthday. A gift of better health — what tops that?

After more than 20 years working in public relations, coaching, fitness and writing, Eileen Chadnick has seen a less than healthy trend emerge: We are overwhelmed.

“Overwhelmed is definitely an issue of the 21st century, especially in the last decade,” the bubbly and outgoing author explained.

We live, she said, in times of unprecedented busyness. “The demands and pace of work and life are at an all-time high and they don’t appear to be slowing down.”

And so Chadnick developed 17 tools to help us get organized, all of which, she writes, were drawn from the fields of neuroscience, emotional intelligence, positive psychology, leadership and coaching.

Her new book, Ease: Manage ‘Overwhelm’ in Times of ‘Crazy Busy,’ gives us tools and tips to make things less frantic.

Some of her tools are not new, she said, but are often overlooked, especially in time of great stress.

“Our brains shut down when we are overwhelmed, we have to use simple tools and techniques that when used over time and with practice, will help in the long run. In essence, we are working toward something, not away from something.

“We all have our own basic owner’s manual, but it’s like when you get a new car and you don’t read the owner’s manual only to discover it held the information all along,” she said with a laugh.

Things like making lists, getting organized, prioritizing, all help clarify the situation. “It calms us, it’s like getting us out of our own heads.”

And positivity, let’s not forget about that. “More and more research — discoveries in neuroscience — is showing that it does, in fact, help.”

Most of our stress, she points out, is self-imposed.

“There’s a simple, almost embarrassingly simple, technique called ‘pause, park and reflect,’ but when we are overwhelmed, we don’t even think about it. But if we get in the habit of using it, it can make all the difference.”

And working at being positive doesn’t have to be complicated.

“At the end of each day, write down three positive things that happened that day or three things that you are grateful for, it creates a positive shift in the mind and can become a healthy habit.”

And Chadnick’s favourite tool of all?

“No. 10: I ask myself ‘What Can I do Now?’ ”

It’s the type of question, she writes, that refocuses the brain on possibility and away from the perspectives of limitations and chaos.

“It can take action and build momentum, it’s all good.”

And all done with practice — and ease.

Ease can be ordered online atwww.easerx.comor at Amazon, Indigo-Chapters or Barnes & Noble.

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